Paying the Electricity Bill

Our office manager left for Vietnam, so I took care of her responsibilities temporarily while she was gone, including paying the electricity bill. The place to pay the bill is supposedly far, but not really if you think about how small Siem Reap is; it's on the way to the airport. Once you get there, you're pretty much going through a herd of people who are patiently waiting to pay their bill through an ineffective system. Everyone throws their bill and payment to the person who works at the counter, and then waits for him/her to input their names into the computer after counting their money. Then, they collect their receipt and go.

So somehow I made my way to the front of the window, seeing that it was important to do so, since I didn't speak Khmer, nor did I know what the fuck happened to my bill. Someone had snatched it and threw it to the front of the crowd. Not to mention, this was 7:30am in the morning, which was when the office opened--meaning people were rushing like crazy! After waiting for about an hour, my bill was finally acknowledged. When the counter-woman found my money, she asked whose was it and literally threw it back to me when I answered her. She proceeded to the next customer. I pretty much stared her down until she took back my money. Apparently, I didn't put my money together in an orderly fashion, as in the bills weren't in the same directional orientation.

Was I pissed? Yes. Did I understand why she was pissed? Yes. Will I change my way next time? Probably.

Even though I got what I wanted by staring the woman down, I was a being a bitch by engaging in that act. My excuse? She was a bitch to me first! In all honesty though, I felt like I was going to win her out anyway, because I was a foreigner who spoke English. Basically, she had better cater to my needs, because I was (somehow) more important than her in this universe--even though I was in a country where she is the native and I am the outsider. Talk about being an elitist.

I couldn't help but to think about Siem Reap while walking back to the moto to go to work. Siem Reap's local economy is based on tourism/foreigners/expats. It's a highly attractive city for many reasons, but mostly because of its proximity to Angkor Wat. Hence, the more tourists/foreigners/expats are here, the better. However, that also means that English, pretty much the universal language now, is required or highly wanted of employees, i.e. jobs for locals are based on their ability to cater towards outsiders' needs. This also means that those who are well-educated are the ones who will get chosen over those who aren't, because English is becoming more and more incorporated into the educational curriculum. Getting an education, lastly, is reserved for those who can afford it. In result, the poor remains poor if not poorer, and globalization, as you can see, has already occurred. How feasible is this type of economy for the natives then?

And really, how much of my mentality feeds this economy that I am starting to become so curious about?